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Music:
Wind through the heather
(Erik Hofsten)
Composed for the exhibition Time shining through
Author : Grethe Gunneng
”Time shining through – gutskin objects”
To inuits all over the northern hemisphere, gutskin has been a part of a complete life, both in the world of belief and as a practical material.
Gutskin anoraks were considered the garments of the gods. They were worn by the shaman during the healing of the infirm, and by people at rites celebrating the God of the Sea.
The waterproof gutskin anoraks were used when kayaking, as raincoats, as windows, and for pouches. This tells of a knowledge of and an adaptation to life at “the fringe of existence”, knowledge that seem to be disappearing in several marginal areas.
With its strength and almost transcending transparency, gutskin represents, to me, the fragile balance between being and not being.
Through the objects and the photos I wish to accentuate being present on our journey: To see what is close, what is small, what is part of our daily life – and just because of that, what we often do not see.
The objects may be inspired by the inuits’ way of storing the gutskin prior to use, rolled around a twig or similar. In the open shape lies the possibility of change and alteration; life’s living process. In the transparency of the material time is shining through; as a metaphor of the animal’s own life, and of our own journey through existence.
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